Alex Guira

Bahrain-based investment firm Investcorp and a consortium of investors have invested $68 million in the privately funded software-as-a-service firm FleetMatics.

FleetMatics, which has offices in the US, UK and Ireland, is a provider of GPS tracking applications for commercial fleets. As part of the financing round, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) invested with Investcorp Technology Partners, FleetMatics' majority owner. New World Ventures also participated as a new investor.

FleetMatics, a market leader of GPS tracking applications for commercial fleets, today announced that it has closed a $68 million growth equity financing. As part of the round, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms, invested with Investcorp Technology Partners, FleetMatics' majority owner. New World Ventures also participated as a new investor.

FleetMatics provides a best-in-class GPS vehicle tracking application. Over 12,500 businesses globally use the FleetMatics tracking system, and the GPS fleet tracking provides customers with an arsenal of powerful tools that helps reduce operating expenses while increasing productivity and improving customer service. FleetMatics provides customers with an effective way to measurably save money and increase productivity on a daily basis.

Accelerate Growth and Innovation

In conjunction with the financing, IVP's General Partner Sandy Miller has joined the FleetMatics Board of Directors. "We are very pleased to welcome FleetMatics to IVP's portfolio of exceptional technology companies," said Miller. "FleetMatics is a rapidly growing, profitable business that has tremendous growth potential and I am looking forward to working with FleetMatics's management team and board of directors to accelerate its growth and industry leadership."

"This growth investment will be an important source of capital to help us accelerate our growth and drive key initiatives. FleetMatics will elevate our ability to expand our best-in-class products and services offerings to meet the needs of fleets of all sizes," explained Jim Travers, CEO of FleetMatics. "Fleetmatics is in a stronger position to quickly reach our goal of being the leading global software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of vehicle management solutions."

"IVP's extensive knowledge of the technology market and successful track record of building growth companies will help FleetMatics to maintain its leadership position while expanding its global footprint," said Alex Guira, Co-Head of Investcorp Technology Partners. "We are looking forward to fully realizing the potential of FleetMatics as an exciting growth company and a clear market leader."

Investcorp, the Bahrain based investment firm in the Middle East, announced that its technology fund has agreed to acquire an equity stake in CSIdentity, the Austin Texas-based technology firm in identity theft and fraud protection services for $35 million. The percentage of stake is not disclosed.

The investment is the biggest private equity placement in an Austin startup since HomeAway raised $160 million in 2006 - according to Austin American-Statesman. In 2007, CSIdentity reported that it had raised $2.5 million from a group of 25 individual investors and had 18 employees. It now has 60 employees.

Investcorp Technology Partners, the technology private equity arm of alternative investment manager Investcorp, announced that its Fund III has agreed to acquire an equity stake in CSIdentity, the Austin, Texas-based technology leader in identity theft and fraud protection services.

CSIdentity was started by entrepreneur and co-founder Bill Morrow. The Fund has made an initial investment of $35m in the company.

CSIdentity provides proprietary software solutions and datasets for the $2.8bn identity theft protection market in the United States. The market is expected to grow over 20% per year for the foreseeable future, driven by the mass-market adoption of the Internet, e-commerce, online banking and other forms of e-payments. An estimated 285 million records of personal information held by government and private sector data banks have been breached since 2008, largely at the hands of computer hackers.

"Our market leading technology solutions are protecting multi-billion dollar corporations, government agencies, small businesses and consumers from identity theft across every U.S. state. Our partnership with Investcorp not only validates our position as the technology leader, but fuels our growth trajectory as we further penetrate the U.S. market and expand globally, leveraging Investcorp's presence and relationships around the world." CSIdentity CEO Bill Morrow said.

"Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the world, having claimed more than 10 million victims in the U.S. alone in 2008," said Alex Guira, co-head of Investcorp's technology investment business, who will join the CSIdentity board along with London-based Investcorp colleague Dirk Schmücking. "With its technology leadership, blue-chip client base and superb management, CSIdentity is well positioned to combat this growing pandemic, not just in the U.S. but in Europe and the Middle East as well. CSIdentity is a perfect addition to our existing top-notch portfolio of security software and data analytics companies."

Approximately 34 million subscribers in the U.S. currently use some form of credit monitoring or advanced identity theft protection services and this is expected to increase over the next few years. CSIdentity leads the industry with advanced Internet surveillance techniques, unrivaled product architecture and the most comprehensive security protection products, including CyberAgent online black market screening in addition to monitoring of payday loans, public and court records, credit reports and even sex offender reports. CSIdentity's offerings go beyond the simple collation of public data, instead using sophisticated technology to identify potential fraudulent behavior.

CSIdentity's solutions are used by Fortune 100 financial institutions, public pension funds, telecommunications companies and businesses that offer direct-to-consumer identity theft protection services. CSIdentity's technologies are used to protect more than 2 million U.S. citizens, both as individuals and businesses, through a suite of business and personal security solutions targeting all aspects of identity theft protection, including identity validation, comprehensive background screenings, identity theft protection for employees and customers, voice biometric identity verification and data breach management.

"CSIdentity is a potentially huge growth story with an ambitious product roadmap," Guira said. "In addition to expanding its global footprint, we plan to grow its research and development program to ensure we retain our technological superiority."